Image: Judas Priest [Official Press Photo]
Of course, Judas Priest would have been top candidates for the big Black Sabbath live reunion and farewell show “Back To The Beginning,” but the band was already committed elsewhere. Another legendary event took place on the very same day: the Scorpions’ 60th Anniversary Show in Germany, where Judas Priest performed alongside Alice Cooper.
Scott Travis, drummer of Judas Priest, shared in the podcast “Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen And Shane McEachern”:
"We knew about the Sabbath reunion or the Sabbath final show that was coming up in the U.K., but as I'm sure you're aware, we had already contracted and agreed to do the Scorpions' 60th-anniversary show in Germany [on the same day]. So we couldn't do the Ozzy thing."
That doesn’t mean Judas Priest won’t honor the legend Ozzy Osbourne in their own way:
"We thought it'd be cool to record a Sabbath song as a tribute to Ozzy. And, of course, we got the blessing from [Ozzy's wife and manager] Sharon Osbourne. So we did our version of 'War Pigs'. But we did that well before — not only before the Black Sabbath show but before Ozzy passed. So that was kind of weird that we were able to do that."
And on top of that, there might even be a version featuring both Ozzy and Rob Halford on the same track.
"I think there's a version coming out with Ozzy actually singing on that version. In other words, Rob will sing a verse and then Ozzy sings a verse. I think that's coming out."
